Daylight

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ava paced back and forth in front of the sofa; the computer set out in front of her on the coffee table. Her stomach was in knots as the clock ticked down to the time of the zoom call with her parents.

"Can I do anything, babe?" Seb asked. He sat on the couch, watching her pace while also texting on his phone.

She shook her head as she swallowed the bile in her throat. "No... I just want to get it over with," she told him, rounding the couch to finally force herself to sit. "I wish I knew what they were going to say..."

"There is no way of knowing until the call starts," he said softly. "I wish I could help ease your anxiousness."

"I do too," she said with a sigh. As the clock changed to two o'clock, she swallowed hard. "Okay... they should be calling any-" she started just before the screen lit up with a call. She nearly jumped at the sound and glanced over at Sebastian. "Here we go..."

"Come here. I'll sit beside you and you can hold my hand as hard as you need to," he said softly.

She slipped her hand into his and nodded. "Okay," she said before she reached forward to answer the call. It took a moment, but soon her parents were centered in the screen.

"Hola," she greeted warily. "We need to talk in English, so Sebastian can understand us," she told them up front.

"Sebastian. That is your husband, correct?" Her father asked curiously. "I do not see him."

"Yes, my husband," she affirmed, clearing her throat a little before she adjusted the computer so that Sebastian was on screen with her. "We're both here. I... am curious why you asked to speak with me..."

"We're surprised you're speaking to us," her father replied. "Your mother is making dinner, so she will join later."

Ava couldn't help but scoff softly to herself. Of course, her mother was in the kitchen. "Papá, what it is you want to say to me?" she asked him directly. "Last time I heard from you, I was an embarrassment and a shame to the family."

Ava's father shrank slightly in his seat which surprised Sebastian. "We saw the photos, Ava."

She sat up a little, her jaw setting. She took a slow breath and nodded. "And now you care?" she asked, almost coldly. "Those were not the first wounds you saw on me. They were just the worst."

Sebastian listened on as Ava and her father continued to talk. He was showing remorse, but he agreed that it was too little, too late.

"You knew he was abusing me. Everyone knew," Ava said to her father, calling him out. "You told me to be quiet. To be a good wife. To be a good daughter. And when I left him, you were ashamed. What do you have to say about that?" she questioned.

"There is nothing we can say to make it right again, Ava," her father replied. "The pressure I grew up under was the same I gave to you. Your mother and I were raised the same. That does not make it right."

Ava's mother walked into view, standing behind her father, wearing a floral apron. "We've been in therapy," she explained, her accent thick. "Your father doesn't like to tell anyone."

"Therapy?" Ava asked, surprise written on her expression. Her father never considered therapy a real thing. "That's... good, Mama," she managed, her voice a little hoarse in her throat. "Is that... why you wanted to talk to me?" she asked.

Her father looked sheepish as he nodded. "Si."

Ava didn't know how to feel. These two people were... so different than the parents she'd known her whole life. "I... I don't know what to say. Only a few months ago you were holding to the lies, but now..."